//------------------------------// // ??!!?!_?/* - [E_R@R] // Story: MLP: Actualization Online // by Slendy //------------------------------// "Duck!" I did, seeing the high-caliber round sail over my mane and embedding itself into a Grimm, killing it as I retrieved my Bo-Staff from the one beneath me, its body vanishing into color Ahead was Nox, enhanced by Silver who kept up the support behind her, all the while Grimm attempted to attack him, Nox would leap over his back, striking the Beowolves back with an <>, seems light or divine magic can severely damage the Grimm, making out jobs easier as we cleared another hallway. Our HP still among the green. "You know, for high-level monsters," Nox shoved one out the wall and into the sky below. "They're not that bright." "Still, don't underestimate them," I looked to Ruby, seeing her guide a hoof over her map with a stern expression, completely unlike her innocent look from before."Even simple Grimm are deadly, please don't take this lightly." Nox shrugged. "Alright-Alright, you're the expert and all that." I trotted over to Ruby, following her as we all proceeded down the hallway The four of us slowly crept into the large Shrine, stepping onto the velvet carpet, which now sat on a semi-complete maze. The walls were still like the Shrine, grey stone, with blue windows, yet the floors and ceiling were a smooth, black metal, with cubic patterns jutting out from the ceiling and floor like stalagmites, strange "That's...unsettling." I gulped, hearing the temple rumble from within. "Where to, Ruby?" Due to her experience in the area before the change, it was better if we followed Ruby, so we didn't run into any traps or Grimm along the way. The whole Shrine looked to be segmented by the separation of the land, leaving onto the central piece we sat in intact, it had the hallway before us, several hallways leading elsewhere, yet from the looks of things, taking the middle path would bring us to the next area. The final area that looked a little larger than the others. "You see, although this metal's infected the area, the map hasn't changed in the slightest, expect the room straight ahead." She pointed past the crossroads to a medium-sized room. "This used to be the part that took up the majority of the area, now its the room past it." "Let's move." Silver spoke up, leading the way as we followed after him, while I activated one of my skills <>, so my perception was raised for any unexpected attacks. We turned to the right, bending around a pillar as we came before a large door to the next room, yet it was wide open, and no sign of monsters inside, other than three shadowy spots on the ground, leaking miasma everywhere "The room is empty/Three dark spots/Traps ahead." Silver rolled his eyes dully, seeing the vacant room ahead. Meanwhile, Nox looked as though she saw a ghost in the back of the massive chamber, around the large pillar we stood behind "Hey...was there a Named Enemy in here before?" Nox asked Ruby nervously, the Huntress turned to look at her with a neutral expression as I surveyed the area a little more, glancing back at Ruby's map for a moment "A massive, Alpha Beowolf would guard a chest, it's how me and Sky leveled up and got used to these bodies, why?" Ruby relayed, seeing Nox peaking around a pillar to where she said it would be, just as Nox's magic forced my head to turn in the same direction "Oh, so was that it?" Nox pointed with a stiff form, her eyes curved up with worry. We all had our eyes to the corner of the left-hand side, seeing something that made a cold chill run along my spine as I became fixated on the spot. The massive Grimm was no more, leaving only an empty chest of crimson and gold Yet it wasn't just that, across the right-hand side of the wall, red code was stained across the walls like blood, all bugging, and jittering in place, with a white patch the size of a plane ripping through the corner of the wall, leaving only an empty spot among the distorted code. My blood ran cold at that sight, even Ruby gaped as we stared into the empty abyss left behind by something completely unimaginable. "What happened?" I whispered, swallowing the lump in my throat again as the black smogs circled the section, leaving investigation out of the question "I don't think all this black metal and code is here for show, what I do think...we are not alone in this strange place." Ruby's reply made a cold chill run up our spines, so she nudged me, snapping back to my senses when she pointed ahead. "Let's move while they wander aimlessly." "R-Right." Proceeding across the hall, avoiding the black smogs that slid across the hall, none of us dared to question what we witnessed so long as we had this problem to solve. But even as I closed the large doors behind us, I couldn't help but feel anxious, I wish White was here, atleast to give some form of logic to any of this. My hooves pushed against the door for a moment as I shook my head. "White's my best friend, I trust him, he trusts me too, I can do this!" With my own pep-talk, I ran to catch up with the rest nearing the next open sector. "Holy...mother of God!" I was winded by the sight ahead of us We now all viewed a massive, grand hall, torn flags still hanging from the arches, with broken glass windows, and more black metal cubes. But following the velvet carpet was a small army of Beowolves, yet their claws and teeth were a purplish tint, with hollow, white eyes instead of the glowing crimson my mind had adjusted too, now a glowing trail of white dripping from their sockets. "Twenty-Two...Four...Seven over there...oh, and the one to the left...y-yeah there's about fifty monsters between us and the door." Ruby counted out, swinging her scythe around in his hoof with a strange amount of glee, the scythe nearly hitting me as I looked through my stats, humming in thought "We might not even need buffs yet, so long as we keep on our toes." I murmured, not seeing the slow preparation Ruby was caught into, her body shivering with untold excitement. "Ruby, why are you...peppy?" "Because these guys are so weak, it's gonna be awesome!" She squealed, leaving myself, Nox and Silver to look at one-another. I mean, she's not wrong, we've gained levels since entering this place so we're all 40 now. Nox then gave an inquisitive brow "Weren't you the one who said not to underestimate them?" Her blunt tone did nothing to stop the grinning pegasus from raising her scythe high "Sky never told you," She was gone in a burst of roses, her body appearing high above the crowd of changed Grimm. "I never miss out on a fight!" The first five Grimm were severed from their legs as the streak of red parted through, Ruby's hooves sliding to a halt with the scythe under her forehooves, a grin plastered on her face with a cunning stare towards the army before us, and in a strange way, this was making my wings quiver with excitement over this gank fight, something I've missed in the last few days. "Come on, let's fight!" I screamed, seeing Silver had already started sprinting with Nox in-toe Atleast twelve of the Grimm leaped forward, their claws a dark purple, all attacking from different angles, while some separated, and others grouped together to take on Silver and Nox, myself, and Ruby, the former two who had already sliced two down with twin thrusts through the head. Ruby, contrarily held her ground, channeling an ice-blue light through her war scythe, holding the scythe down near her back right leg. "Ooooh, Ruby's gonna do the thing!" I heard Nox gush like a fangirl as Silver blocked a set of claws from striking her distracted partner. "Hey, no interrupting me!" "Here we go!" Ruby cheered, chanting the sword skill to us all <---Sacred Skill - Boundless Dance of Roses---> Untapped light quickly blinded every enemy in the area of the sword skill's effect, as I rubbed my eyes for a moment, only for them to widen at the sight of a whirlwind of hardlight versions of Ruby's scythe. Ruby spun her scythe around to point the tip down, with a quick plunge into the ground, the phantom scythes scattered like rose petals, the trails of ice-blue slicing and puncturing the horde of enemies in a moment of pure light, almost like stars in the night sky. *Shatter-Shatter-Shatter-Shatter-Shatter-Shatter-Shatter-Shatter-Shatter-Shatter-Shatter-Shatter-Shatter-Shatter-Shatter* "I get it now, she's using brute strength to quickly thin their numbers, we've only got about thirty left." I realized as I ducked, avoiding the dogpile from behind as I cracked my bo-staff into the lower jaw of the Grimm, a Scourge missed striking me with my guard down, and it was joined by two others to my left and back Narrowing my eyes at them all, I threw my bo-staff into the air, high-kicking the one to my right, grabbing my bo-staff out of the air to pierce the sharp end clean through the chest of the Scourge to my left, pulling diagonally to my left, and sweeping the second off its feet, spinning my staff around to quickly slit the throat of the downed Scourge. With an effortless fall to my knees, the Scourge I punctured from before missed another <>, ending with my wings pushing up quickly, drop-kicking the Grimm in the chest, giving me the space to spin atop my forehooves, pushing back up into the air while kicking my staff through the side of the Grimm's neck and out the other end. *Shatter-Shatter-Shatter* [Sword Skill - Stop Rewind] A Sky-Blue glow was cast upon my staff. Like a puppet I was pulled to the nearest Grimm, slicing diagonally across its abdomen, spinning around to pull the sharp staff back across, hurdling the spiked-tip through two more throats, ending with the staff sinking clean into the Grimm's mouth again, the three erupting into streams of color around me. I then felt my ears ring with the chime of a clock's hands, reality turning back the clock, my same stream of attacks thrown the opposite way, crushing and decapitating two more Grimm under me, yet one managed to strike my side in the process. I managed to parry another Grimm's jaw from biting me with acrobatic finesse. A vertical lunge sliced the next through the eye, followed by a clean, diagonal thrust to my right, sinking my staff through the collarbone of the blindsided Grimm, the same vertical draw sliced the head clean off its shoulders. *Shatter-Shatter-Shatter* Landing steadily to my hooves, I felt my breath catch in my throat as I dusted myself off, closing the loot tabs with a weak smile towards the ground, flopping back onto my haunches. "Nailed it." I breathed, deciding to rest as the others took care of their groups Sliding under the belly of a Grimm, a burst of arcs from the skill residing in Nox's halberd blasted the group apart, Nox held the green skill constant, pushing up with her feet to cross her blade with the Scourge diagonally, followed by the same diagonal motion from the right, severing its arm. Nox then followed with the reverse, spinning to slice the second arm off, followed by a powerful inclining slant to the right, splitting the Grimm above the waist. Her final move collected the winds replicated by her own speed, and with a hoof-strike to the Grimm, it too shattered, its body bursting with light from under its black hide. Nox felt her ears perk as I went to call out to her about the Grimm behind her, yet two thin, silver lines cut the beast down as Silver landed next to her, eyes wide as she saw it and six more fall before her hooves and my eyes. With a roll of her mechanical eyes, she shrugged "Show off." "Back/At/You." Silver booped her nose, causing the Tomboy's eyes to turn a sharp pink as she muttered under her breath Our eyes all drifted back to Ruby, who effortlessly skated under more of the mutated Grimm's attacks with her wings, their levels far too low to harm her form, all while the crook of her scythe tore open their stomachs as she passed with a lateral swing, leaving only a cascade of colors in her wake. The final horde of twelve all ran from the end of the hall, a final cry of defiance against the intruders that dared to slaughter their kind; To them, it was a demon, an inhuman monster of indomitable strength, with a raise of her scythe, her breathing became still as she kept her eyes glued to the remaining Grimm. Three charged from the back, two at her left and right, the final seven raising their claws in different shades of colors before her eyes, their illumination reflecting off the light that crept from the windows. In contrast, Ruby channeled a single, light blue tone to her crimson scythe. [Sword Skill - Horizontal] In a single, fell swoop of a light blue line of light, Ruby leapt into the air, twisting her body to swing her right hoof, the scythe flashing through the air, severing all twelve of their heads off in a single blow, the sudden crash of their bodies falling around her feet, and sudden flash of blue light lingered. The contact they made to the floor on impact brushed through Ruby's mane as she collapsed her scythe, placing it back on her side with a smile. Meanwhile, my jaw hung open, Nox was staring blankly, while Silver dropped his twin daggers. "I think I'm got Grimm in my nose...aaACHOO!" Stumbling back slightly, Ruby rubbed her muzzle as we approached her, moving past the stunning display of skill she possessed, all the while Nox tried to keep her cool over the spectacular finish "So....awesome...!" Nox whispered, making Ruby blush with a giggle "You did just as good as me too." Her praise made that feeling of being outclassed vanish, most players of her level would usually boast and ask for praise, but Ruby and Sky were like White and the others, they were happy just to work together, and that's all I could ask for, its why we've made this far. "But still, now we have one more fight ahead." All eyes moved towards the flight of stairs we stood before, the velvet carpet leading towards the open door that light broke through, and the sudden shake of the Shrine only made the fact of defeat weigh heavier on us now more than ever. "Okay...Here goes nothing." I breathed, feeling my heart beat faster as I looked at my friends with as much courage as I could gather, it was clear we had no idea what waited for us, but we needed to believe we can come out on top. "This is it, I wish we had more time, time to gather more players or our friends, but right we don't have that, who knows could happen if we decide to run at a time like this." I stepped up to look over all of them with a warm gaze. "The world doesn't know of what's happened, and they may never will, that's why we are the only ones who can do something here and now to prevent the same calamity from happening to this world." I stopped, looking up at the gateway ahead. "I don't care what lies ahead, I'm scared, I've never done this without having someone else to lead, and I don't know if I'm even worthy to lead any of you." They looked at me with that pity again, but I remembered what Sky told me, what he guided me towards, so I held onto that as best I could now. "That's why I won't lead you, I'll fight beside you as a partner, an ally who can give her strength to your own. I'll live for the innocent lives of this world because that's what the people who died before wanted us to do, to live!" With a chuckle, Nox stepped up to pat my shoulder. "We'd have followed you anyways, Rain, don't think we're ones to back down now." Silver stepped up too, stuttering as he did. "Together a-as f-f-friends." Ruby was the last, giving me a small, reassuring smile. "I remember always being unsure of myself, but what having friends are for, to help you see past your doubts and become who you want to be, so we'll do the same, we'll fight to live for this world too, me and Sky." "Okay...let's get ready to do this!" I turned around with a determined smile plastered on my face, stepping up the flight before us. "Ruby, Nox, Sliver...we're going to save the world." "Heh, now you're sounding a lot like White." Nox mused, jumping up to walk beside me. "I like that, now I'm fired up!" "Aye." Silver nodded, and Ruby joined beside him "Let's go, Team SSRIRN~!" For a short moment, the four quickly activated their buffs, respectively, Silver's boosted their strength, speed, and giving them <> for extra health, whilst Ruby activated <> for resistance against kinetic attacks. Nox had given herself a health boost too, myself I boosted us with <> to increase evasion, and <> improving our skill activation by double. The party of four players, friends against what came next stood at the gateway, their weapons at the ready. months since the Death Game began, and their courage mingled with dread upon entering the gateway's arch, this was a battle for an undecided outcome and against an unknown enemy. It was a massive hallway that leads to a circular platform up a flight of stairs, where the roof had caved in, and what was once a tree had become like some of the other spots around them, cubic, and black metal, the tree was now a spire of black into the ceiling above, although patches of grass still grew, and the sunlight basked the area with light, as well as through the remains of windows, say for the back wall, that fell apart to reveal the outside world below them, from how the wind howled, we were extremely high up now. Moving up the stairs we came to the sight of...nothing? Just six large pillars of carved stone, the open air ahead and that was it, no boss in sight. If not for these ears, I'd have hoped the case was true. My head snapped to the stairs behind us, in a nano-second, a large shadow flew over us, pushing us forward as the massive, black creature spun in the air, fanning its wings out high to give us a full view of the guardian of the shrine. It was a large, black dragon with see-through crimson wings held between long, black spines tipped with white spikes. It's back was covered with long spikes too, leading down to the forked tail, this underbelly held an exposed ribcage, acting as armor on its smooth, scaleless body. Its powerful limbs smashed into the ground, shaking the foundations as the claws dug into the stone. The long neck reached up to view us with five horns protruding from its skull, the lower jaw black with sharp details, two eyes of crimson stared back with a low growl as flames licked against its forked tongue. Then it raised its head, the wings attached to its own pair of arms, revealing it to have six powerful legs total. *ROOOOOOOAAAAAARRRR!!!* ---~[Calamintas, The Black Eclipse - lvl ???]~--- "I-It's -- no way!?" Nox choked out, her hooves shuffling back as I felt my heart plummet to depths I never felt before in my soul, the very crimson eyes of this dragon were nightmarish to stare into, the level was unreadable and even if it were visible the sheer power behind it all was haunting to behold "W-What...can..." I couldn't even muster a single word from my throat as the eyes narrowed towards us, the head raised high as I felt my hooves kick into overdrive, my blood flowing to the point it boiled as I threw myself atop Ruby, with Silver doing the same to Nox. "GET DOWN!" From the bowels of Calamitas sprung a torrent of orange flames, passing over our heads with searing heat, crashing into the wall with a blast of heat. When the fire ceased, we all scrambled to our feet, dividing as the forked tail cracked the stone where I once stood, before the body of Calamitas spun in the air, sweeping the entire area with its tail and knocking me into the air, luckily I planted my feet on the far wall, pushing back to avoid the claws of the dragon scoring the wall as I flapped it's massive wings around, slamming back into the ground as we rotated to where it once stood. Suddenly, Ruby fired off several shots aimed for the head of Calamitas, yet the rounds merely made it angry as it roared again, stomping with its armed wings, it flew into the air before crashing down before us, splitting the stone and throwing us across the platform with shards of stone and slab. Yet even that was followed by a single charged blast of fire sinking clean into the ground between its legs, the fire erupted, splitting into three smaller blasts that pushed us closer to the edge of the cliff-face, the wind mingled with hot and cold as we panted for our breathes, eyes like pinpricks before Calamitas. "Crap! Rain we're out of room here!" Nox yelled over the wind, while I felt many thoughts cloud any sense of judgment in my head, it hurt and I felt as though my mind was splitting into pieces "I...I don't know --" Calamitas turned its head away from us, making my breath snag in my throat as to why it would do that. Was it going to send us flying over the edge with a tail swipe? No...something is...that's it! "Ruby...does Sky have a skill called, 'Revenge'?" "Umm, I think he mentioned it before, but why?" She asked warily before I felt my eyes adjust to something shining past the wings of Calamitas, forcing me to wrap Ruby with my wing as I pulled her away from the edge. "W-What --!" "We need to move, now!" I ordered briefly as they followed me around the ring, just as something sharp shot from the gateway and straight into Calamitas' head with a crack, followed by a right hook to the left jaw, then a backflip to smash a foot against the dragon's lower jaw, making it scream aloud as it moved around the ring and back to the open wall in the far back as we came back to where we started, seeing the black and blue form land before us, filling me with relief as the eyes looked back at us. "Sky!" He snickered at that. "Sorry for the Ex Machina entrance, this place is a pain to navigate without your map out." Sky replied with a peace sign, turning with his blades jutting from his gauntlets. "How you all holding up?" "Ow." Silver groaned, rubbing his mane shakily "Fair enough, any plan as to how we take him down?" Sky motioned for us to respond, Calamitas watching with a low growl towards the agro Sky had placed on himself A plan? I closed my eyes, trying my best to think of something White would do in this situation. He always found some way of knowing how a boss ticked, an enemy weakness of some kind. How did he do it? Why did he know exactly how to beat an enemy? "Hey, White, I was wondering," I asked curiously as my mouth played with the straw between my lips. "How is it you can predict an enemy's movements?" Said player I'd only known for two weeks looked at me with his usual, neutral expression, a brow raised in thought. "It's not that I can predict them, it's how I'm used to knowing the ins-and-outs of the fight overtime." "Huh?" I tilted my head, not understanding what he meant, so he placed his drink down to look at me directly "A Boss, for example, has three weaknesses off the bat." He began to explain to me. "One, what their element is, if it's a boss with high armor and uses fire; things like slash and fire will not work. Two, any information people have given about the enemy after they have beaten it or from side-quests related to the boss. And Three, it's the environment, sometimes a boss can't be beaten by regular attacks, so sometimes you have to use the environment to win." My thought cleared and my heart raced back to my chest once more as I stared at them all evenly. Thank you, White. "The environment, we'll use it against the boss!" "Explain," Sky asked, the stomps of Calamitas beginning to grow near. "And fast." I did, looking to Ruby and Silver "Silver, you buff or heal us if we require it, Ruby, you protect him from any of the boss' AOE attacks." I relayed, seeing Ruby salute and Silver nod, the two backed off towards the staircase. Then my gaze fell to Nox just as quickly as I pointed to her left. "You and I will take down the six pillars, while Sky distracts the boss for as long as he can -- er, if that's okay with you, Sky?" He gave a thumbs up. "Got it, nice plan, so let's see it through!" He soon flew into the air again, while Nox ran to the left of the platform, leaving me to cover the right side, all while Sky raised into the air to face the dragon again. "Ante up." [User: ???] The flames licked Calamitas' tongue, a surge of fire breached its mouth as the flames struck Sky, yet he raised his palms that were laced in an arctic mist [Frozen Seal - Cold Snap] The torrent soon parted between Sky, the cloud of snow creating a thin tunnel of cold air, forcing the fires to rise or extinguish on contact, yet Sky felt a sharp pain flare from his stomach, followed by his back slamming into a nearby wall, the black tail sweeping through the mist as he watched his health decrease, quickly, Sky pushed up hard with his wings, avoiding Calamitas as he barreled into the wall with his claws sunk deep in the stone, followed by a winged arm smashing above its head, narrowly missing Sky as he sliced the leather wing, retreating to fall behind the dragon. Yet Calamitas craned its neck around, blasting the sky with three fire charges, which erupted into nine, throwing Sky down onto the ground, his feet shaking across the slabs as he grunted, seeing his health rise slowly from the warmth of a green aura around him, silently thanking Silver as he stared up at the beast, the legs slamming back onto the ground to snarl at him, the wings flapping so hard the wind became darker from the mist leaking off the left wing. "Iota. Penny. Go help Rain and Nox, I'll handle this myself." Sky ordered, seeing his aura flash white and green, without a moment of hesitation, a white unicorn wielding a metal bow, with blue highlights in his mane ran towards Rain. While a green earth pony ran for Nox, her blue eyes winking back to Sky. "Okay, big, dumb, and ugly, come and get me!" Meanwhile, Rain continued to hack away at the first pillar on her own, sweat forming on her brow as she felt her legs strain with each hit, yet to her luck, several arrows pierced the weakened cracks, causing the whole lower half of the pillar to groan and crack as the entirety of the middle section fell apart before her eyes, when she turned to look for the attacker, she found the white unicorn standing before her, levitating a bow above his head. "Smart, using agro to keep the monster busy while the rest of us handle support and alternative motives," He commented in a cold, almost cynical voice. "Yet it's taken you both this long to destroy pieces of rock?" [Iota - lvl ???] "Wait, you have an actual body!?" Rain freaked out, making him groan for a moment, before he motioned to the other pillars, and to the collapsed form of Nox's, with Penny maneuvering her seven swords around the collapsed structure. "Who is that?" "Are you going to continue to lose focus or are you going to help us win?" Iota muttered, making her wince as she picked up her bo-staff and ran for the second pillar, with Iota following suit "Also, you can stand to lose the attitude, not my fault that these pillars have high health bars too." Rain glared at the blank expression on Iota's face, to which he merely rolled his eyes, drawing back the bow again "Much like Red, you are annoying at best." "Look who's talking." Rain muttered, slamming the staff into the pillar Sky, on the other hand, slid under the dragon, slicing straight down its midsection as the back leg nearly crushed him as he fled. He shot up into the air, kicking the claw away from his before ducking under a torrent of flames, using this to fire several <> into the hanging jaw of Calamitas, extinguishing the lingering flames dripping from between his teeth. Calamitas charged towards him, slamming its winged arms into the ground to uproot the stone, yet Sky flipped into the air and straight over the stone, slicing diagonally across the right leg, landing on his feet he turned to thrust his blade into the muscle and flew up, dragging two parallel lines through the elbow and across the wing bone. The head snapped around to bite at his leg, Sky turned, pressing his feet against the snout and backflipped over the horns of Calamitas, slicing clean through two of the protrusions. Earning the advantage, Sky raised his arms high, their blades coating in a thick shade of purple. [Sword Skill - Dragon Cry] Without a notion of hesitation, the black knight became a literal pinprick of light across Calamitas, who swung haphazardly in the air in fury as a multitude of strokes and lacerations carved deep into its flesh, spraying code and mist around them as the purple trail continued to slice in X-Formations and circular motions through-out the dragon's scaleless form. Ending with a large eruption of purple energy pushed against its skull, enough to shatter the left side as it screamed in agony, firing several blasts of fire to prevent Sky from proceeding further. Yet something glimmer under the black mist directly before Calamitas' eyes, it was a dim, almost transparent glow. Calamitas' eyes narrowed with a snort of flames, a collection of embers consensing within his throat, mingling with the sacs that gave birth to the flames. In a flash of sharp light, blinding everyone who witnessed the attack, Calamitas fired a concentrated beam of plasma from his maw, cutting through the air, before erupting into a gargantuan wall of purple flames that melted the stone at his feet. "SKY!" Ruby screamed in horror, unable to see if his shadow lingered among the flames that blew in the breeze. Silver stood there trying to shake her out of her trance, but the veteran huntress didn't move, instead, she closed her eyes, silently praying for something to happen. "...Please be okay, I know you...I know you'll be okay." From the roaring sea of flames, something began to stir the flow of embers into a riptide, as embers of white leaked from the wall. Calamitas didn't notice this, his legs turning towards the unprepared Ruby and Silver with a hungry growl, the claws sinking clean into the stone as it licked its fangs. Ruby finally opened her eyes, her voice catching in her stomach as the strong scent of ash filled her nose, the snout of the dragon directly before the two ponies that watched with paralyzing fear, the only sound made was the low grumble from within the jaws of the twisted Ancient Grimm Dragon. "Hey, dragon, ever heard of the shoulder touch?" The voice asked from behind Ruby's shoulder, Silver had already noticed this since his eyes were wider than plates and his jaw was completely unhinged at the sight. Ruby smiled warmly when she felt the hand ruffle her mane, her silver eyes meeting the blazing white embers that licked Sky's metal frame Calamitas didn't move as the hand pat his right cheek, the blade grazing his skin with a flame that brought discomfort to the dragon, with a single phrase, Sky narrowed his brilliant, purple eyes from within the armor. "Hey." <---Sacred Skill - Kindly Scattered---> A mere flash of white and blue light extinguished the firewall, and left a single, smooth streak through the middle of Calamitas, Sky standing just at the end of his tail before turning to watch as the area turned red, a black form of Calamitas sliced and torn by dozens of white lines that forced it to its stomach, the flash of white lines causing the body to convulse in agony. In that split second, the atmosphere returned, and the shattered form of Calamitas struggled to its claws again, the multitude of bleeding wounds, the sparks of lighting and the shadowy aura that surrounded the Boss only made the dragon sway more as it stood again. To all their hopeful eyes, their expressions were shattered into dread when the scaleless dragon began to glow with a threatening red aura, eyes trailing a shade of red as it slowly lumbered around to face Sky, while sections of its body began to hum with the same menacing glow, the claws dipped in red as the jaws widened to released a massive wave of red flames to smolder the ground under Sky, yet he didn't budge as the flames kept the others from aiding him, even with only one pillar remaining, since the floor under Sky swayed, a pieces of the brick began to fall from under his foot. *ROOOOOOOAAAAAAAARRR* "I need to give Rain more time, if I let this beat me she'll..." Sky glanced to Rain, seeing her conflicted expression, the same Sky had felt so long ago, that feeling of failure and guilt seeping into your mind, making your thoughts murky and uncertain. He wouldn't let that happen to anyone again, he suffered with it for too long, so seeing it effect someone else, it made him strive to do better. "Don't worry, Rain," He raised his arms, the blade gleaming against the fire. "I'm not done just yet!" [Unity Move - Fire-Ice Dragon's Brillant Flame] The blast of concentrated fire and ice broke through the flaming arena, yet Calamitas ran through the attack, yet all its claws were glowing dark purple, with the body latching around the side of the massive, black obelisk. Leaping off it, Calamitas spun in the air, and they saw the message. [Calamity] "Get ready to jump!" Rain commanded, and the dragon crashed into the ground on all sixs, sending an ever-expanding ring of corruption across the ring, at the very last moment, the purple light beginning to blind them, the part all jumped over the line, as it burst into small clouds of purple smoke against the walls Suddenly, Sky was sent flying into the ground, pinned by a massive, black claw, the blood-stained claws piercing his shoulders, the chestplate on his torso being the only thing keeping back the unbearable pressure on his stomach, his bladed gauntlet pinned to his side by Calamitas' digit. Slowly, his health began to dip into amber, even as the white flames surrounding Sky burned at the skin of the dragon, this did little to sway its intent to kill. "Grah! Oh, God please, get a breath mint!" Sky gagged, the beast roaring in his face, pushing his head back to the ground. "Oh, Gods it's in my mouth -- hurk!" With Sky pushing far enough to move his right arm again, he felt something slam into his body, pulling him out from under the claws of the dragon and towards the east side of the platform. Atop his stomach was the red pegasus herself, Ruby steadily panting as she exhausted her semblance to push Sky out from under the beast. Sky was about to say something but noticed Nox backing Silver up now, a few weaker Grimm trailing in from the gateway, turning his head back, he saw the pained look on her face. "I think this makes it the tenth time you've saved my sorry ass, love." Sky chuckled, seeing the dragon turn their way in a frenzy, blasting the ground in anger. "We need to move, now." Yet Ruby didn't budge, instead, she tapped a hoof to his faceplate, giving him a hurt expression. "Don't ever scare me like that again, you jerk," Ruby muttered, giving a more relaxed smile as she wiped something from her eye. "I know you can handle yourself, but that doesn't stop me from worrying." Sky quickly wrapped an arm around her and pushed back with his wings, flapping hard to avoiding the crushing claws of Calamitas, the two gliding over the boss and towards Iota and Rain who worked away at the final pillar together. Meanwhile, Sky looked to Ruby and softly pressed his metal head to her forehead. "Sorry I keep making you worry," Sky whispered to her, leading to him being pecked on his metal cheek by his girlfriend "Then let's do this together." Ruby offered, grabbing her scythe as Sky nodded once, releasing her as the two flew shoulder-to-shoulder again, raising their weapons against the ascending dragon that breathed another torrent of red flames their way, so the two flew around the cone in a helix formation, Sky's blade glowing a sharp blue, while Ruby's scythe hummed with a crimson [Sword Skill - Horizontal] <---Sacred Skill - Boundless Dance of Roses---> [Unity Move -Crimson Skies] Their unity move was quickly buffed again by Silver, the blades glowing brighter as the duo stomped the snout of Calamitas, pushing back to raise their blades, with Sky swinging around in a strong incline to his right from the left, while Ruby swung down in a verticle arc, followed by the corners slicing with phantom blades, the white flames of Sky also infused themselves into the gashes, burning the dragon as the sacred moves blasted him with an unseen force, stunning the boss multiple times before erupting with a powerful golden burst of light, throwing the dragon against the east wall as it flapped to steady itself again. "Ruby!" Caught off guard, Sky with Ruby held between his arms were wrapped between the hidden tail of Calamitas, the appendage lifting them high before slamming them against the ceiling, then smashing them into the floor, causing two electrical currents to fizzle across their bodies, their health meters dropping into the red faster than even their unity move as Sky struggled to his feet, falling short as his armor sparked. "Gah!" Sky's flames died out, alongside his black armor as he fell atop Ruby, both paralyzed as Calamitas leaned back on its winged arms and back legs, an orange miasma building within his mouth. Iota quickly moved, grabbing Rain who struggled against the unicorns magical grasp as he held her back, all while the bat-pony swung her hooves to try and pry herself free. "No! Let me go, please!" Rain begged him to let go, yet all they could do was watch as the line of passage was cut thin by the torrent of flames between them and her friends, Silver and Nox, the latter of which turned to see the torrent screaming towards them, the Grimm from the gateway all but fled, leaving Silver to turn back in horror at the wall of fire searing the ground towards them both. "MOVE!" Nox couldn't, seeing the weakened states of Ruby and Sky, while her own hooves felt grounded as the sight of Twisted Angulation flashed in her eyes, that brambled giant that had taken the first few lives before their eyes if it weren't for White, she's have died back then. But now...now her magic won't react, only her eyes as something stepped between her and the flames, hooves outstretched to the tornado of fire. "N--No, Silver--" She had received a smile back from the pitch black stallion, his ocean blue eyes glimmering in the light as his hooves released a strong, emerald glow to project between them and the fire "I-I-It's okay..." He spoke softly, that hidden stutter of his showing again from under his Zero-like tone. "I'll b-be right h-h-here." [Aura - Gaia's Hand] The emerald shield of light formed, the guard pushed against the brunt of the flames, but that immediately pushed Silver backward, his hood flowing off his mane as the silver hair whipped back, while his teeth ground themselves together, noting the cracks that continued to form on the magical shield between them. Nox was star-struck, her eyes wide at the sight of Silver attempting to save her, and from how he stood, he didn't want to budge even if she tried to move him. "STOP!" Silver snapped back, the shield amplifying before them again, reinforcing the cracks as the flames finally dissipated, and the extreme heat ceased to burn his and Nox's eyes. All that remained was his heavy breaths, little to no stamina or magic left in his bars as Silver slumped over, his head falling to the ground. "...good..." "Silver," Nox quickly moved to sit beside him, tapping the side of his face to keep his eyes opened, all the while his health stopped at the yellow margin. "Come on, keep your eyes open you jackass," Nox kept a hardened stare fixated to him, while her face continued to tremble. "You massive idiot, why didn't you just grab my sorry ass and move!?" "Heh...O-o-only thing...I-I-I could th-think of," He coughed, raising a hoof to boop her on the masked muzzle, causing her eyes to turn a shade of pink again. "Even." While he never saw it, she was smiling, more-so than for his safety but more for how he saved her. "Just rest you, idiot, we still need you after this." Turning her head, she screamed over to Rain, who was frozen in place beside Iota, who looked to her then to Sky and Ruby. "Come on, Rain! It's all up to you now!" [User: Purplrain] "M-me?" My thoughts came to a close as I stumbled back upon seeing the dragon rest for a moment, clearly expending most of its stamina during the constant fight between us, but how long will that last? How can I beat something I can't hurt? Sky...Ruby, they couldn't beat it, what can I do against something so powerful? "I...I..." "Would you stop hesitating." My eyes quickly met Iota's, his hooves holding my shoulders that trembled in fright, but he didn't let me go. "If it were up to me, I'd take it down, but I lack wings and a healthy brother to do so. Stop whining and step up already." "You don't think I know that!?" I finally snapped, slapping his hooves off me as tears stung my eyes, the entirety of my head was a mess of emotions and thoughts that I had no control over, but now I couldn't help it, I needed to just...scream! "I have been the weakest link to everyone I've ever known for years, even before this game I was weak, I have always been weaker!" "I came to this game to try and build myself up again, I wanted to be as strong as the others around me, not hesitate when things got tough, but after what Harbinger did I felt so...useless!" I screamed in his face, jabbing a hoof into his chest, all while Iota never blinked once. "White was the only one to believe in, he didn't care how weak I was, how empty-headed I came to the knowledge of games or this world! He was the only reason I lived this long...now I have people I can't live without and I've seen how strong they've become without my involvement, people died to protect me! I stupid, shaking girl who couldn't even hold a weapon without trembling in fear...if I live...I'll kill more people than Harbinger could ever do on his own..." I finally let out all my inner thoughts to the world, tears striking the ground under us as I lowered my head in defeat. If I died, no-one would have to worry about protecting me, they could live longer than I ever could. "So then," Iota finally spoke, even as Calamitas began to rise to his feet again. "Why are you here?" I raised my head, seeing his hoof crash into my cheek as I winced at the slap across my face. "Wake up, Purplrain. If you died here, then what would be the point of continuing to this point? All you'll be doing is tarnishing the players that died for you, all so you could grow stronger." Iota fortified, tapping a hoof to my chest. "You want to grow stronger? Then quit shaking, grit your teeth and fight!" I was left visibly torn by his cold, yet impactful words, even after hitting me, that made a lot of things in my head calm and relax again. W-What was I saying? If I died I'd only make all their deaths mean nothing, all the time I spent with The Eternal Flame, wasted. Sky was right, my own thoughts would tug and pull at me in the worst of times, and I nearly fell for them, I can't give up now, I haven't given up all this time. I raised my hoof, curling it back around to strike me across the face, then with my right hoof I struck my face again, even as Nox yelled at me for it. Then with a final swing, I punched myself into the wall, feeling pain surge through my body as I did, but also clarity. "You done?" Iota grinned, and I spat the bad taste in my mouth clear, facing him with a determined smile of my own "Sorry, just needed to knock the sense into my childish antics," I replied, flaring my wings at the sight of Calamitas, its health dropped into the red now, and the last of the six pillars had crumbled away during his retaliation against Sky and Ruby, now the ground under him bent and cracked. "Time to end this." [Aura - Revenge] A fierce burst of crimson fire across my form for a moment, causing a glimmer of red to twinkle in Calamitas' sight, the neck craning around to face me as I flew into the air, pulling back on a purple and black bow in my hooves. I didn't have a single moment to waste, I couldn't let him have a second to react otherwise I'll die, I'll lose and kill everyone if I die here, I needed to fight! [Umbra Seal - Shadow Shot] The sharp arrowhead shattered against Calamitas' head with purple particles of darkness, the jaws clapped shut with chains, inches from my tail as I curved up and into the sky through the roof, the tethering shot holding the jaws closed for a second, but with an easy push, the spell broke and his wings flared into the sky, a single sweep extinguishing the flames as the black mass of bone and darkness gave chase after me, yet I didn't look back as I continued to push my muscles higher and higher into the air above. I then spun to my left upon hearing the sucking sound emanating from below my hooves, and as I performed a helix, the torrent of searing flames shot through the cloud layer, almost blinding me with the bright light the fires projected, even as the wings brushed through the fires to catch up with me. With another burst of speed, I kept ascending past its jaws, feeling the pressure of the jaws clamping shut near the hairs on my tail with each failed attempt. "Come on, just a little further." I pleaded for my wings to keep going, even as my stamina drained little by little with each second that ticked by, the green bar now halfway as I neared my target. My heart soon raced as I felt my back scream in agony, my own voice caught in my throat as a set of claws sliced through my back, followed by a sudden, bone-crushing force whipping me through the final cloud layer, the land mere smudges of colors in the sky as I gasped, seeing my health drop to near minute levels. "N-Not yet..." [Purplrain - lvl 39] [HP 54 - 10, 558] [SP 150 - 500] [MP 250 - 800] A sudden uproar of wind spun me backward, the gargantuan shadow flying straight past me and into the blue sky above, the black wings fanning the darkness that shrouded the Grimm Dragon, the fires still licking its tongue with each breath, all while the tail slithered to curl next to the underbelly of Calamitas. Yet I felt my smile tug at my weakened lips when I saw the mass of red hexagons rotate around Calamitas, catching the enraged dragon off guard as it head swung around in an attempt to understand the trap. "I guess no one told you of the 'Flight Restriction Level', huh?" I grinned, seeing the red errors wrap around the powerful wings like vines, forcing them to close against the vertebrae of Calamitas even as it thrashed and screamed, then with a sigh, I folded my wings, my eyes centimeters from the near-invisible line of the boundary, then I fell from the sky, followed quickly by the flightless Calamitas. "Once you break the regulation, even A.I will be restricted for minutes. Thank you guide book." I unfurled my wings again, pushing them down in swift, narrow arcs to boost my descent, all while the boss grew closer to me with each second his weight dragged him down. I just needed to keep going for a little longer. I couldn't risk another strike or even an accidental misstep, one of us is going to die here, and it all comes down to this gamble. Behind me, from between my locks of hair, I witnessed the eyes of the Grimm narrow towards me, the jaws slowly opening again as I turned back, closing my eyes for a moment to channel my attack into my hooves. Now! [Umbra Seal - Death's Iron God Scythe] Turning in the air, I swung my hooves with a burst of shadows that combined into the massive, purple scythe that infected the air with a darkness that overshadowed Calamitas' own form, his eyes widened as I screamed under the whiplash and fire that burned in my forelimbs, pulling the God-Scythe diagonally across the air, curving a solid arch of magic through the air and clean across Calamitas' stomach and neck, canceling his own fire breath that now ignited within his mouth, and just as the Shrine below came into my view again. So with my wings fanned quickly I glided backward in a loop, skating across Calamitas' side, pressing my hooves to his tail and then flipping back into the air, my acceleration cut down to a glide as the Boss screamed a final dying roar, crashing straight through the floor of the Shrine and into a pit of jagged mounds and shards of the once grand temple. Its jaw opened just as the rock and ground sunk through its head and neck, protruding from several locations along the neck as the body crashed into the ground with a massive burst of wind and fire. I came crashing in soon after, tumbling to the ground in a heap next to the massive hole in the ground where black mist rose up from, and even now, the shaking ceased all around myself and my cheering friends. I-I did it! "Holy shit, Rain, I think you just outclassed me in the 'Dragon Slaying' department!" Sky joked, helping to raise me back up again, handing me a potion to drink with much-needed relief as I gasped, coughing. "Okay, don't choke yourself now." "I nearly died...~!" I breathed, wiping the remnants off my lips as Nox tackled me into a hug, followed by Silver bumping a hoof against my shoulder, and Ruby simple raised a hoof for me to bump. "Sorry about almost breaking down there earlier." "That was so awesome~" Ruby and Nox squealed in amazement, just as I saw Iota nod to me once and vanish alongside Penny "Besides," Nox cleared her throat, letting me go. "Given how all of us have dealt with this world, I think you deserve to vent every now and then, believe me, does wonders down the line." "You are okay/All that matters/Thank you." Silver graciously added, all while several tabs appeared before us, all while I felt that grand release of joy from within me rise at the sight of the rewards and the massive banner above us that lasted for a few seconds [CONGRATULATIONS] [Ruin Boss Liberated!] Quest Complete! [Rewards] Bits X10,000 EXP 5000 X2 Ancient Dragon Scale X2 Ancient Dragon Claw X1 Ancient Dragon Soul [Special Achievement Unlocked] Red Like Roses - Meet the mare with a massive scythe [Level Up!] [39 - 41] [Stats Increased] Agility +15 Strength +10 Endurance +35 Magic +8 Luck +18 "Okay seriously? You get an achievement made for you but I don't? Stupid multiverse BS." Sky grumbled, folding his hooves as I held in a laugh with Nox, but Ruby sweetly walked up to him and pecked his cheek, making the player beam with joy again as I cooed "Thanks for the save, Sky." "Not a problem, love!" He grinned with a fire ignited behind him "How?" Silver gaped with a confused stare "So cute!" I giggled, all while Nox rolled her eyes and focused on her own rewards "What's this?" Our brief moment of recovery and glowing pride of accomplishment over Calamitas was once more put on hold by Sky standing back up to look towards his left with a perplex expression, soon after he walked away from us and next to - w-what was that? He was staring at a table-sized, black marble platform, with blue lines dividing a small segment in the middle of the rectangle, looking similar to a keyboard, just with blank, large keys. The lines seemed to hum with what looked like...code, not magic, but literal coded matter. We all slowly walked up to stand with him, our equally perplexed expressions answered all our questions for each other. We didn't know what we were looking at. "Strange/What manner of force is this?/A console?" Silver pondered, placing his hoof atop the marble, Ruby stood beside me too, trying to guess what the console could do, and she slowly reached a hoof out to touch it as well *Fwoosh* We all jumped back, say for Sky who's hoof was pressed on a key, causing a bemused frown to creep onto my face, and he turned, seeing our equal expressions of irritation, forcing him to chuckle lightly. "Hehehe, whoops." Suddenly after he spoke, the device on his arm glowed a bright blue for a second, and I watched as his eyes danced through the screen like lightning, with each dash past a line I couldn't see his gaze only turned to a morbid realization. "...Oh no..." "Sky, what is it?" Ruby's worry only made a small pit of dread sink into my stomach, painfully building at his twisted face of worry which mingled with anger at the sight of the text, a keyword I kept seeing was 'Displacement' "I...what has he done...!?" "It's not what I 'Have' done, its what I have left to 'Do'." N-NO! It was cold, a sharp tongue as if it were poison from fangs of a snake had struck me, and I couldn't move my limbs at all, my muscles were trembling with a racing source of adrenaline, but I couldn't move, I could only stare at the horrific monster with a sickening grin float in the air like a God. His orange eyes narrowed at the sight of us, but his smile only made my heart race with terror, all the courage I had before drained with the color in my face. "Sup." He spoke chillingly, his orange aura filling the gashes in his arms and through the tears in his clothing. "We haven't formally met, Ruby Rose and Sky Zaffre; My name is Harbinger, the Nightmare of Wardens." The situation had soon warped and snapped under the presence of Harbinger, no longer hiding behind his pawns, but instead, he stood before us all, not a soul making a move at the sight of him. His aura was sickening, reeking of blood-lust and dark matter. Then, he clasped his hands together in a dry slow clap. "Now, I hate to be the one to rain down on this victory, I was afraid Morana would have finished what he started with you, including the Grimm Dragon, but to my fascination, you all prevailed." Harbinger then held a claw to his chest, his eyes widening. "Oh, and I am being honest, that was rather impressive, really something since the Second Raid, say for the...unexpexted turnabout." I felt my stomach turn at that, the thought of - No, that's what he wants, to use that against us, I can't fall for it! I hardened my shaky stance, glaring back at him with as much confidence as I could muster, and that seemed to intrigue him more. "Oh, I remember you. What? No 'Little Whitey' here to babysit you, little girl? Are you all big and strong now?" He kept making a mocking tone at me, but Sky raised a hoof to rest against my jacket, forcing me to stop in my autonomous approach, that did make him roll his eyes. "Silent and speechless as always I suppose." "At least I'm not hiding like a coward." I forced out my throat, but that did little to phase him again, say for the look of amusement plastered on his face "Oooh, someone's gotten feisty." I resisted the urge to growl at that, my whole body was a mess of anger and fear again, but atleast I wasn't alone in that "If you're only here to gloat, get it over with asshole!" Nox flared up, making him chuckle softly, yet it was ever-so-chilling "Straight to the point then. I do need time and energy for my plan, but as you know the world responsible for this one wouldn't allow for its players to end up trapped without a way to escape." He stood firm in the air, raising his hand before his face, clenching the air before him. "So I whisked you all away." "W-What?" My flabergast stare only made him grin wider than possible "Sky and Ruby were sent here by...well, I don't how the man who met the 'Cyborg' ended up here, and I was worried my plan would be in jeopardy, but now I see its all gone according to plan." Harbinger stared to pace under the sunlight, completely contrasting himself entirely. "This is Actualization Online, but it's not at the same time." "You really did it..." We all slowly turned, and my heart sank at what Sky said next with a lost expression. "...You trapped the souls of the players in a reality where this game is real." He did what!? "That's my no-one can free you, because...you took the players into a world parallel to the game." "Ding. Ding. Ding." The final word made the ground under me shake, and I felt my body fall back onto my haunches. "It's so easy, taking a few weak mortal souls and placing them in a world not governed by humans, but by a cognitive machine. Being a Nightmare with the power to govern a world weaker to myself made this all the more fun, and once I gain the power of digital manipulation, nothing will stop me." He growled like a manic animal "He's...using our souls as a shield?" Ruby whispered under her breath "Nightmares have the power to tear a person's soul from their dying body and imbue themselves with power, so you rigged the world to transfer the souls of their deceased bodies to you when the line between this world and their bodies are severed, essentially forcing their bodies into an irreversible coma." Sky elaborated and I only felt the impact that death really left We couldn't leave without playing his game, it wasn't possible, and every time he broadcasted the Raids, he did so by using our interface helmets as a catalyst. It was all real...magic over souls and traveling between worlds...that was supposed to be a fairy tale, but now it was far too real, everything that we touched was a new reality, and the game was the only thing to cover its emptiness. "Now, I think I've given you all enough to dwell on, feel free to tell your friends, hell, the entire world can know, it won't matter in the end when I finally win this little game of ours." He raised his arm again, and something in me yearned to say something else, even if I was frozen with fear, sadness and...hope, a glimmer of hope still rested in me, like the day White confronted Harbinger, he was scared too, all of us were and carried all our courage towards himself to speak out I did so too. "Why did you do it?" I stood up again, brushing the dust off my collar. "Why use us as hostages when you could kill us all now?" "...Heh Heh, now you're beginning to open your eyes. If not for you this world would reject me as all the others did." He never answered when he vanished, and that sweet taste of winning was only left with a bitter end "Well..." Sky spoke up, overlooking the newly named 'Remnant Hollow', the town now a mass of floating platforms and interconnected bridges between the ground and dozens of islands. "Let the record show, it was like this when we got here." "When we got where?" Ruby hummed with a nervous shrug, making Sky nod "Exactly." Clearing my throat, the two jumped when they saw the three of us standing there, causing the couple to grin nervously towards us. "In our defense, we didn't do this." "Honestly, no wonder you're a couple, you're both idiots." Nox muttered dryly, yet neither of them denied it as I stepped forward with a soft smile "We just came to say goodbye, since our quest is done," I replied, seeing realization dawn on Sky's face as he looked...almost saddened by that. But not forever, since you'll be sticking around." "Aye, it was fun, teaming up with all of you." Sky replied kindly, lifting a hoof for me to shake under the afternoon sunlight. "Let's do this again sometime, hopefully under better terms than the fate of the world." "Of course," I agreed, before Ruby nudged Sky, making him lift his hoof to the air with an 'Oh' "Almost forgot, here," He swiped his hoof down, tapping on a few keys and blank windows before closing them again, suddenly, all three of us looked to see the message appear before us. "As promised, your rewards for helping us out with this mess, hand or in this case, hoof-crafted by us, and our one-in-a-kind." [Item Received!] Blackwing (Crossbow) "Like your own heart, trust in where it leads you through the darkness." DPS - User Orientated Elemental Enhance - 45% Attack Speed - Fast Critical Chance - 30% Bonus Skill: Evolution The more you rank up and the skills you earn will increase its power "For Rain, a repeater crossbow for her forehoof, so you can use a weapon and the crossbow, and with this rare trait, your power will increase with your own, same goes for both your weapons too!" Ruby smiled happily as Silver looked at his new katana tied to his flank, a black scabbard, and a black-handled blade. "Created a replica of the legendary Murasama, hope you like it!" "Amazing/One with my element/Forever grateful." Silver bowed, while Sky pointed to Nox's new Halberd swung in her magic, the blade was a moonlight silver with stars across the ultramarine staff, with cloth tied to between the blade and staff "For you, a blade made of metal found only between dimensions, Gambit had a hard time getting it, and no other metal exists in this world or others, near unbreakable and sharp enough to cut through time and space." Sky chuckled at the thought, his face growing pale. "Just...don't hit me with it, had some bad memories with that metal." "A blade that can cut worlds? It's perfect in every way!" Nox gushed with glee, swinging it around to see trails of stars follow it. "Hehehehe, I love it!" "Rain, I --" I didn't let Sky finish as I wrapped my hooves around his neck, hugging him tightly with a large smile, while Ruby watched me with a kind expression "Thank you, for everything you've done for me," I felt his own hoof pat my back softly as I felt stronger just by being here "Anytime, Rain, don't ever pass up the chance to talk with your friends...it's why I'm still here." He replied as I let go, seeing him bow his head to me out of respect. "We may know Harbinger's plans, but that won't stop us from freeing you from this world, I vow, I'll do what I can to save this world." "We both will. And you won't ever be alone again," Ruby added beside him as all five of us stood atop the mound, the sun setting behind us as the wind blew my mane, yet I wasn't afraid of what came next, the road ahead was always this tough, unforgiving if we let it in, or heartbreaking if we're too careless. White knew that and I want to know why, and I think this made us realize that ourselves, even if only a little. "We can win this together." "Yeah, we all will." I agreed, standing beside them all as we stared off at the floating islands among the sky, a warm breeze of the coming spring on the horizon "For now though, I think I'll just enjoy the sunset." Sky sighed, sitting down on his haunches, with Ruby resting her head on his shoulder too, I took up a spot next to him, with Nox and Silver doing the same, though, to mine and Silver's surprise, Nox rested her head against Silver, making the guy's face turn a new shade of red, but Nox didn't seem to care For the longest time, we sat here, enjoying nothing but the sheer silence of the world around us, say for the ambiance of the world and the warmth of the sunlight that crossed the horizon, making my eyes widen with wonder at what lay ahead. This game, it's our home now, the people we meet, fight, live with, die beside, they are all that matters now. If something gets in our way, we'll face it together, even if we're alone we'll continue to strive against Harbinger and his plan. I promise this world will see an end, I'll make it back home to my body and see my best friends again, my mom and dad, Klaw, Silver, Nox, Seraph, Yin, Yang, Summer, Laxus, and White... "White, I hope I can become strong enough to surpass you one day, and meet you on the other side. I want to know who you are, and I want to tell you how much this feeling I hold means to me...to Purplrain...to Azure." "This time, I won't hold myself back again." End of Arc III Update Party: Purplrain - lvl 41 [Stealth class] SilverCrow - lvl 41 [Defensive class] Noximillion - lvl 41 [Support class] Sky Zaffre - lvl 70 [Offensive class] Ruby Rose - lvl 67 [Offensive class] Current Level: 41 Magic: Shadow/Umbra Items: Blackwing (Crossbow) Bits X10,000 X2 Ancient Dragon Scale X2 Ancient Dragon Claw X1 Ancient Dragon Soul New Skills [Sacred Skill - Boundless Dance of Roses] - Summon forth a dozen spectral versions of your weapon [Sword Skill - Stop Rewind] - A Horizontal or Verticle slices before copying the abilities in reverse [Frozen Seal - Cold Snap] - Release a blast of arctic ice [Unity Move - Crimson Skies] - Spectral blades and horizontal arcs intertwined [Aura - Revenge] - Focus all agro upon yourself [Aura - Damage Cut] - Resist to kinetic [Aura - Slight of Hand] - Doubles skill activation time [Aura - Darkwing] - Increase evasion [Aura - Life Gain] - Increase to health